Lvluo: bought links and link trading

Lvluo (绿萝) is Baidu’s link-trading algorithm, launched in 2013 and upgraded to 2.0 the same year. It targets bought and sold links and the ecosystem around them.

What it covers

• Sites selling links — the supply side, which the 2.0 upgrade specifically extended to.
• Sites buying links to inflate their own standing.
• Link intermediaries and the trading platforms themselves.
• Mass low-quality directory and “soft article” placements built purely to pass link value.

Why the supply side matters

Lvluo 2.0 was notable for penalising the sites selling links, not just those buying them. That changes the calculation for any publisher approached with an offer to host a paid placement: the risk is not confined to the buyer, and a site that monetises by selling links is putting its own search presence in the transaction.

The legitimate boundary

Paid placement is not prohibited as commerce; passing search value through it is the offence. Sponsored content, advertising and partner listings are ordinary business — the requirement is that they be declared rather than disguised as editorial endorsement, and that they not exist purely to move ranking.

What to check on an inherited site

• Outbound links from articles to unrelated commercial sites, especially recurring anchor patterns.
• A footer or sidebar block of links to sites with no editorial relationship.
• Any arrangement where a third party can place links on the site — guest posting, partner widgets, unmoderated user content.
• Historic agency work: link building sold as a service in this market frequently means exactly this.

The durable position

Baidu, like every major engine, evaluates links as recommendations. Links that exist because money changed hands are not recommendations, and the algorithms designed to detect them improve while the schemes do not. A link strategy that only works if the engine fails to notice is a liability with a delay on it.